Trucks carrying humanitarian aid and fuel obstructed on Polish-Ukrainian border
Pravda Ukraine
The protest by Polish hauliers blocking checkpoints on the Polish-Ukrainian border is preventing lorries carrying humanitarian aid and fuel from getting through.
Source: Serhii Derkach, Ukraine’s Deputy Infrastructure Minister, on the podcast Chronicle of Economics
Details: Derkach noted that while the Polish hauliers publicly claim that humanitarian cargo is not being blocked, the situation on the ground is different.
Quote: “When I personally go to the border, humanitarian aid drivers come up to me and say they are not allowed through. … The protesters claim that some of the cargo isn’t humanitarian aid, as the drivers say it is. Perhaps because it’s not being transported by some large international humanitarian organisation like the UN or the Red Cross.”
Details: The fact is that many Ukrainian charities purchase goods intended for soldiers, and now they are not being allowed to cross the border.
Quote: “Today we had a whole vehicle loaded with tourniquets for the troops. It was not allowed through.”
Details: Lorries carrying potentially hazardous goods, primarily fuel, also face problems crossing the border. It’s a similar story: the protesters claim that the cargo is not being blocked, but in fact, a queue of dozens of fuel tankers can be seen at the border. Derkach pointed out that the fact that the protesters have been checking drivers’ documentation also seems bizarre to Ukraine.
Quote: “Protesters standing near the border have started checking documents. In other words, they’re looking at the documents to see what cargo is being transported. That could be military cargo or humanitarian goods. We don’t quite understand why these people would get this information and where they might pass it on.”
Background:
- On Friday, 1 December, Ukraine’s Recovery Ministry and Poland’s Infrastructure Ministry reached an agreement on a list of the conditions required to unblock the border.
- The checkpoints have been blocked by Polish hauliers since early November.
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